Fairy Boy and Ranch Girl
by kitchFit
Summary: Some works I did for Malink Month in 2015, Incomplete but I have no plans to finish it. Basically some events from Ocarina of Time from the perspective of Malon. Mosty fluff.
1. First Impressions

"My Din! He should have been done hours ago! What is he doing?" muttered Malon impatiently to herself. Today she and her dad were delivering milk to the Castle of Hyrule they harvested from their family farm, Lon Lon Ranch, but today was taking longer than usual. Her father, Talon, was a very kind man, but had been known on occasion to be slothenly with some of his responsibilities, specifically ones that involved a lot of manual labor. He was probably sleeping right next to the castle wall, leaving his wondrously tolerant daughter alone in Castle Town to tap her foot anxiously while city folk bustled around frantically.

She had a solution for occasions like these, usually: she had a cucco egg ready to hatch soon if her father fell asleep along the way, which would chirp feverishly to wake her resting dad. But today that would be unhelpful, as Talon had fallen rest within Hyrule's gates, and guards won't let any unscheduled visitors in. Malon supposed she could just ask a guard if they could check on her slacking father, but she's always felt a bit shy around men in armor, and would be too embarrassing for her to do it alone. Nevertheless, that may be her only option.

Just as she was on that train of thought, she saw a new face walk cautiously into the Castle Town Square. A young boy about her age wearing a green garb was marveling at the city around him. _Never seen the city, huh?_ thought Malon, watching him ask busy city people for something, probably directions, but to avail. It made Malon giggle. She was very amused with the sight of this young man stumbling around and tripping over cobblestones for quite a while, but then grew tired and contented herself with humming her family tune at the center fountain.

After humming this this tune for quite a time she found the green boy she thought was so funny staring at her quizically. She grinned and decided to say hello. "Hi! You're clothes look different, you're not from around here, are you...? Oh! you're one of those fairy boys from the forest!" she said cheerfully, noticing the small flying orb resting on his shoulder. He looked a little nervous, if not slightly confused by this accusation, but nodded shyly.

"I'm Malon, me and my dad own Lon Lon Ranch. He went to the castle to deliver some milk, but he hasn't come back yet..." You didn't know why you were telling a perfect stranger this information, but as an extroverted ten-year old it seemed a great converstional topic. He, however, did not, and gave a timid smile before scurrying off.

 _He's a little odd,_ thought Malon, _too bad he didn't stay, it's kind of lonely around here. Maybe he could've helped with dad._

Malon thought about this solemnly while continuing her charming tune, a little sad her fairy boy friend decided to leave, but then realized he had run off in the direction of Hyrule Castle. Perhaps it was not too late to request a favor, and quickly followed him.


	2. Epona's Song

Evening at Lon Lon Ranch was almost always a spectacle to behold: the setting sun sending crisp rays of red blasting throughout the sky, the scent of oxygen-rich grass combined with freshly groomed horses galloping around, and young Malon humming the hypnotic tune passed down by her family to her beautiful horse Epona. The juvenile mare was always rambunctious during the day, constantly whinnying when she wasn't getting enough attention, and very skittish around the other horses, but at the end of the day, Malon was always able to calm her down with her gentle hum. Slowly, Epona was becoming more and more stable.

That was until, however, she gave a startled snort and looked over at the corral's gates, frightened. She began to breath heavy, and Malon was wondering what had startled her so. Then, turning her gaze over to the gates, she found a familiar face walk through. A boy clad in a foresty green had begun strolling into her riding area, looking admirably at the large yellow thoroughbreds trotting through the grass.

"Oh! It's the fairy boy again! I heard you found my dad! How did you like the castle? Did you see the princess? Hee hee!" Malon greeted excitedly, this was the boy that gave her some help the other day when her father had fallen asleep delivering milk to the castle, "Dad came home in a hurry after you found him. Hee hee! Oh yeah! I have to introduce you to my friend, fairy boy," she gestured to the mare beside her, "she's this horse! Her name is Epona! Isn't she cute!" She beckoned him to pet her.

"Um.. hi... Epona," Fairy Boy said nervously, reaching out a hand, "I'm-!" Epona quickly jolted away from his grasp, scared of what he might do with it, and galloped as far away as she could, who knows what this tree smelling boy has on his agenda, she certainly didn't trust him.

Malon looked down, disappointed, "It seems Epona is afraid of you, fairy boy," this wasn't surprising, of course, Epona hardly trusted anyone, not even the stable worker, Ingo, who worked hard with the horses. But Fairy Boy seemed hurt by the horses actions, his eyes worried that he frightened the young mare away from him. Malon thought it was heartbreaking, she tried to help him.

"My mother composed this song. Isn't it nice? Let's sing it together." she told him. He nodded slowly and took out a small instrument of some kind, "Oh, cute ocarina! Are you going to play this song with that ocarina?" He smiled a bit and shook his head yes.

She started to hum once again and he tried to follow her lead. Little Fairy Boy seemed to struggle with the notes but as she continued her chime he quickly caught on. Soon they were both on perfect pitch, her soft voice with the windy sound of his ocarina were beautifully intertwined into what Malon knew to be how her mother's song was always meant to be heard. It seemed to even warm the heart of Epona, who sauntered up to them to have a better hear of their melody.

After they were finished, Epona trotted closer to the forest child and nuzzled her snout against his shoulder, his fairy jumping up in surprise.

"Oh Epona! She's grown fond of you, fairy boy." Malon teased as wherever the boy walked, her young horse quickly followed. She giggled as he ran wildly around the carral and Epona mimicking his pace just as quick. She ran over and joined the mare in the chase, giving her best whinny doing so.

The three continued like this for the next hour, laughing and playing until it got dark and she had to go to bed. Epona had tired herself out running around and Malon felt likewise. She wished Fairy Boy a goodnight, and he replied the same, then left out the gates to go presumably back to his family, whoever they were.

"Oh! You look like you had fun with that boy, was he nice?" asked Talon, her father, as she stepped in her home.

"Oh yeah! He's quiet at first, but real fun if give him time!" she replied.

"Well, maybe we should have him over some time, he was certainly helpful at the castle, perhaps give him a treat." he offered.

"Yeah! That'd be great!" the thought excited her, he would technically be the first friend she had her age, she couldn't wait for that! She paddled up to her room and got into bed, made sure the lights were out, and snuggled herself in her covers. _Anybody who can gain Epona's trust like that must be a great person, we're gonna be great friends!_ she thought, and fell asleep.


	3. Playtime At The Ranch

Fairy Boy's visits were few and far between, but whenever he had the the time he would visit Lon Lon Ranch and his ever-excitable friend, Malon. He would come beat up and exhausted, but with a huge grin to show her something he got from whatever adventures he's been going on. She was always happy to see what new gadget he had found around Hyrule's nooks and crannies.

One day he brought these gloves that made him stronger and they made little forts out the milk crates in her barn. Another time he came with a special scale that allowed one to dive for an extended amount of time, so they spent the evening seeing how deep which of them could hold their breath the longest underwater, with and without it. Occasionally he even brought masks from the city, and he would try to act as a happy Goron or a sly Gerudo to make her laugh.

But sometimes they'd just sit on a milk crate together and play her mother's song in harmony, her with her voice and him with his ocarina, with Epona at their side and the little blue sprite on his shoulder until the sun went down. They were in the middle of this one afternoon when Fairy Boy decided to stop abruptly.

Malon looked confused and stared at him curiously, "You stopped, Fairy Boy. Why did you stop? Was I off-key? No I wasn't. Did you forget the notes?"

He replied softly, "No, I remember, I just want to show you somethi... something else, the Princess Zelda taught it to me." He put the ocarina to lips once again, and started playing a different tune, something less quaint than the Lon Lon tune but much more smooth, something one would play for a baby to make it fall asleep. Malon eyes widened as she was surprised by the songs beauty. It definitely sounded fit to play for someone so important as the royal family. She became entranced by the tune and its hypnotic properties and laid her head down on Fairy Boys shoulder.

He played the song given to him by the heiress herself pasionately, thinking of all the things he's gone through over the past few weeks, all the monsters, the endless puzzles, the gross whale throats he crawled through helping a little entitled fish girl, but most of all, the little redheaded girl he gets to be with in between his escapades who... whoo, whoooo is totally using his shoulder as a pillow, appearing peaceful and at rest nuzzling her little nose in to his collarbone. Fairy Boy's face started to get as red as a setting sun behind them.

"Um, eh, Malon, I think maybe you should be getting to bed."

She lifted up her head, yawning a bit, "Huh? Oh, I guess." They led Epona into the stables, said hello to Ingo, muttering no doubt self-righteous to himself, and saw eachother away at her door.

"Goodnight, Malon, see you next time we meet,"

"Goodnight, Fairy Boy, I hope that's soon," Malon replied, and then in a whisper, "Maybe one night we don't have to say goodnight..." she grinned and shut the door, leaving Fairy Boy alone with his eyes wide and his heart pounding, _what in the Great Deku Tree did she mean by that!_


	4. Sneaking Out At Night

The night can be a beautiful place sometimes: cloudless, stars cheerfully dotting the dark azure skies; the moon shining down on the rows of grassy hills; vague shadows pulled from skeletal tree stretching and twisting into intricate shapes of possible horrors. A sight to behold.

But the night can also be a treacherous place. This, the young boy in green was very aware of as he sat on Lon Lon's wall to keep away from that potential danger, trying to fall asleep. He had spent his fair time in Hyrule's nighttimes, and he knew that the serene moonlit plain was not as it seemed. On step along the road would bring terrors of the dead crawling out from the ground, a constant reminder of Hyrule's horrific civil war that brought no true fruit.

Who didn't know this however, was a young redheaded girl who wanted to know where her forest boy friend goes off to after the sun sets. Her ignorance of the danger proven when she was spotted wandering alone, at night, after having undoubtedly sneaked out of her house.

"Fairy Boy! Hey, Fairy Boy!" Malon called out, "Where are you? Are you still around? Faaaaaiiirryyy Boyyyyy!"

Who found her screaming into the night, ironically, was the person she was initially looking for. Fairy Boy had been on the verge of sleep when he was awoken by her cries. He shot straight up, his breathing heavy as he watched Malon walk unarmed into a potential death-trap. Muscles tensed as he jumped down from his ledge and ran as fast as he could over to the damsel unknowledgable of her own danger and quickly grabbed her arm.

"Oh hey Fairy Boy, there you are, I was wondering whe-"

"What are you doing out here!? It's not safe, we need to go back to the ranch!" He told her desperately.

"I just thought we could play under the moon. Night adventures always sounded so much fun! What do you mean it's not safe? There's no one in sight but us and the moon! It's beautiful!" Malon argued. However it didn't seem to change Fairy Boy's mind.

"Come on, Malon! Before they come out! We need to go back!"

"Before who come out?" she replied earnestly, walking back gesturing to the world around them, "There's no here but us, in the night, where we can run and play under the sta-" Malon was interrupted by a strange crackling something jutting into her back. She turned around to find what appeared to be a small skeleton, with a misshapen skull and a large sword hovering above its head.

A scream was let out in terror of the living dead about to slaughter an innocent girl, but was cut short. Fairy Boy in perfect timing had unsheathed his sword and jumped to threat in due time, taking his blade and running it smoothly across the creatures ribs, bringing it to a pile of bones. With the same speed, he swiftly grabbed Malon by the waist and hoisted her on his shoulders, running back towards the ranch.

When he got there, he set her down quietly and asked if she was okay, if it touched her in any way, and what in the Sweet Wisdom Of The Goddess Nayru was she thinking, walking alone at night like that. His face shone in the moonlight, exaggerating the drench of sweat and worry that lined it. He certainly looked like a hero back there, saving her from almost definite peril. She chose to answer none of questions, a huge grin breaking across her face, all she could say was, "You're my Knight in Shining Armour, Fairy Boy!"


	5. Lon Lon Milk

"Fairy Boy! Fairy Boy! Before you leave, I want to give you something!" Malon rushed over to the young boy in green, her hands hidden behind her back. She had caught him just in time as he was about to set out on one of his daring adventures. Malon had been imagining him as something of an undiscovered hero since he saved her from skull child a while back, and wanted to help him in his exploits.

"Sure, Malon, what is it?" he asked, looking around her for anything of interest.

"You have to guess!" She excitedly answered.

"Is it... a flower?"

"Nope! Something better!"

"Give me a hint."

"It's round and white and really bright!"

"The moon?"

"No silly, I can't hide the moon behind my back!"

"Very well then, I don't think I'd want the moon, scares me too much."

"Why?"

He grinned "I just know it's going to fall, destroy everything around it, something should be done."

She giggled, "The moon's never going to FALL!"

Fairy Boys faced mocked concern, "I don't know, looks bigger every night, to me."

She looked down laughing and took out the hidden item from behind her back, "Here," she took out a bottle of warm, fresh Lon Lon Milk, "Take it. You can keep the bottle too."

"Thanks, Malon," he replied, accepting her gift, "this is really helpful, but can you just give away bottles, I think Talon might need this."

"Oh we got tons. Dad won't even remeber one is missing, so if you need more you can always come back here!" At this remark Fairy Boy's face became worried, he looked at the bottle, and ran over to hug Malon.

She appeared confused, "Fairy Boy? It's just some milk, it's no big deal."

"No, it's just, I might be leaving really soon, and won't come back for a long time," He replied, holding her tighter, "But no matter how bad things get while I'm gone, try to remember that I'll be back, and I'll make everything right again."

Tears started to form on Malon's face, "When are you going to be back?"

"I'm not sure, exactly, but whenever it is I'll find you Malon, I know I will,"

"What if you don't?" Malon was completely crying by now.

"I do, I have already, just remember I'll be back, okay?"

"Okay, Fairy Boy, I'll remember. Just make sure you remember me."

"I'll bring you back this glass of milk to prove it to you!"

"Bye Malon."

"Bye Fairy Boy."

He then let go, and she watched him walk away, out of her ranch, away from her. She won't see him for a long time, her best friend. What will she do? She sobbed. But then thought for a second, _He's probably gonna bring me back spoiled milk, ew!_


	6. Talon's Proposal

_Where is that last freaking bird!_ Fairy Boy thought to himself, _it went over here didn't it! Then WHERE IN DIN'S FIREY BUTT DID IT GO!"_ At Lon Lon Ranch, Malon had invited him to stay for a nice homecooked meal with her, Talon, and Ingo, after of which her father offered to play a game with him.

In their cucco house, where Talon spent most of his time, he selected three "special" cuccos, throw them into the mix of fowls, and asked his daughter's friend to find each one within a thirty second time limit, or he'd start over. Those thirty seconds had quickly turned into thirty minutes, time growing like the frustration was etched into Fairy Boy's face. He discovered that they almost always stayed in one spot, which made things easier. He thought he had spotted the final cucco brooding in a corner when-

"Oh ho! Time's up, you were close that time!" Talon cut in, much to the aggravation of the forest child, "You know you're really intent on this game. I'm not gonna think you're wimpy or anything for not finishing it, you know."

"It's fine, I think I got it this time," he replied, he WOULD finish this game. It was an insult to his pride. If he couldn't find a stupid bird in a time limit, how could he save Hyrule, if that blabbering owl was talking about was right? How could he face Saria? She watched him leave in an effort to avenge the Deku Tree, only to be defeated by a bloody cucco? No! He will FINISH THIS!

As Talon held up the feathery demons, Fairy Boy readied himself, "Ready? Set? GO!" The "special" cuccos flew in several different directions. They tended to blend in to the other cuccos, but sometimes they had a different quirk: they tended to flutter their wings a bit more than the rest when someone approached, a fact that Fairy Boy took an embarrassingly long time to figure out.

Finally, he cornered the last evil creature of Hell and wasted no time tackling it for glory. The forest child stood up and beamed at his accomplishment, he had caught the cucco, the last freaking cucco! It was over, his journey can begin, only now can Hyrule start to be saved! He stood up on a box held the devil bird high above his head, grinning like the proud idiot he was.

"Well, well, well! You've done it! Good job, boy!" Talon congratulated, "Now I think you should have a reward! What should be now... How'd ya like to marry Malon?"

At this Fairy Boy slipped and fell off his glory box right on his rump, looking up at Talon while blushing furiously.

"Ah haha! You know I was joking, you don't have to marry my girl!" Talon laughed, "I think I have something else you can have, though." He reached inside a crate behind him and pulled out a bottle emblazoned with the Lon Lon brand label. "Here, you can have some Lon Lon Milk, on the house, you can even keep the bottle!"

"Oh... thanks," Fairy Boy said, looking relieved if not slightly dissappointed, "I'm really grateful, thank you."

"You deserved it. It looked like a lot of hard work from my perspective." It was a lot of work, and frustrating, but both his irritation and his pride from the game had worn off at the prospect of him marrying Malon. What if Talon _hadn't_ been joking? He wasn't sure if he was entirely opposed to the idea...


	7. Seven Years Absence

Dear Fairy Boy,  
I have decided to write you a letter every once in a while to keep you up to date when you finally come back to us, because you recently had to leave for a long time. I'm not sure what you have to do that's going to take so long, but you better come back soon! People are acting pretty worried lately. Apparently Princess Zelda went missing a few days ago, and bunch of people are scared that something is going to happen to the castle. I'm not sure what is happening exactly, but I'm sure you are on the case! Please come back soon.

With Love 3,  
Malon

Dear Fairy Boy,  
It's been two whole months since you've been gone! I'm getting really bored! There are nobody around to play with anymore, and it feels like all I'm doing is work. Ingo's been acting even grumpier lately, and giving me more chores for absolutely no reason! The other day he made me dust the milk crates, THE MILK CRATES! Nobody cares about how clean the milk crates are! He's just being mean! I wish you were here so at least there could be some fun. Even Epona started missing you! She just sits around in her stable and looks sad, OBVIOUS SIGNS OF MISSING A FAIRY BOY. Trust me, if I didn't have so much to do, I'd copy her. Please come back soon.

Your friend,  
Malon

Dear Fairy Boy,  
Today is my BIRTHDAY! I'm turning eleven, which means Dad is going to teach me how to ride a horse by myself! I'm really excited! I'd be even more excited if whatever you have up to for THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS were to finally end! I'm putting willpower into this letter, willpower that will flow from my hand into the pen and down into words I write to bring you out of whatever little thing you have been doing and back to my ranch to CELEBRATE MY GOSH DARN BIRTHDAY. Fairy Boy please come back soon.

Wishing you were here,  
Malon

Dear Fairy Boy,  
Today marks the one year anniversary of when you had to leave. Many things have changed in Hyrule. When we went into the city for a delivery I heard something about a man from the desert has started coming into the castle a lot. I'm not sure how nice he is, but the city folk looked pretty worried. Then my dad fell asleep right outside the castle before he could finish the delivery, AGAIN! I had to wait for hours in Castle Town until a guard found him dozing, THANK DIN! Reminds me of when we first met and you went over the wall to wake him up. I really miss you, Fairy Boy.

Please come back,  
Malon

Dear Fairy Boy,  
Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote of these, I wasn't planning on it, but then I noticed it was the two year anniversary of your MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE!? I got tired after a while and asked around Castle Town if anybody saw a little boy with fairy and a stupid green pointy hat, but no one knew where you might of gone. Last seen entering the Time Temple, and was never seen again (deep voice)! Sounds like something out of Typhon novel. Also, I've been reading a lot more books lately, mostly ones about knights saving a kingdom from a fiery dragon, like I hope you're doing. If you come back and you haven't fought a dragon I'm gonna be really disappointed in you. Epona's a full horse now, old enough to be ridden by an adult, which you might be, when you get back. I hopes it's a lot sooner than that, but if you have to save Hyrule or something, I can't pressure you.

Fight Bravely, My Knight,  
Malon.

Dear Fairy Boy,  
Since this is now apparently an annual thing, I decided to write you once again on the day marking three years since you left. Lots have changed. Remember that one desert guy I told you about, well he's been getting very popular around the city. His name is like Gabnandork, or something like that. It sounds funny but he's actually pretty scary, sometimes he looks like he wants everyone in sight to just be struck dead by the work of the gods. Anyways, it's been so long that I may have forgotten your actual name, was it Linus? Lennifer? Lint? Maybe it was actually Fairy Boy and it's just been SO LONG I thought I made it up. If I remember your name will you come back? I'm gonna keep trying to think of it in hopes you will somehow hear it and remember you have friends that miss you.

Here's Hoping,  
Malon.

Dear Fairy Boy,  
It's been five years since you've been gone, I missed last year by accident and then completely forgot about it, sorry. Things around here have pretty much been falling apart like you said they would: the King was killed, Zelda's still missing, Ganondorf has been terrorizing everyone since he took the throne, Ingo runs the farm now, and I haven't seen Dad in weeks. I'm not sure how long I can hold out, every ounce of my being is pored into work. Okay, that might sound a little dramatic, but it's exhausting to do basically _all_ the work here at Ingo Ranch. Yep, he renamed the ranch after himself, the bastard. He's also declared Epona an "unrideable" because she refuses to let him on her back. She's a really good horse, now that I think about it, I'm gonna give her a sugar cube after this. You better come back soon, Fairy Boy, I'm getting tired here waiting for a knight to sweep me off my feet and save the day, might take matters into my own hands, and if it comes to that, there may be blood!

Save me!  
Malon


	8. All Grown Up

On a farm once occupied by a cheerful young girl and her father who had fun taking care of their animals and teasing the grumpy stable worker, now all that can be seen is profit-place, run only for greed and home to egotistic ranch owner and an exhausted maidservant, Malon. Days on Ingo Ranch grow longer and more tiresome by each passing minute to this redheaded lass, now an adult by Hylian standards. Every second is spent cleaning, grooming, running errands, cleaning, heavy lifting, cleaning, and getting yelled at by her ungrateful boss.

When Ingo had first taken over the ranch, she intended to revolt, to fight this slaving megalomaniac and seize the ranch for herself, but that had turned up futile when the farm head had been supported by Ganondorf, and any attempt to reclaim it would be punishable by execution. She then tried to gather her belongings and leave to find her father, who was banished from the property, but was stopped by Ingo threatening to mistreat the horses. Now she stays as a servant, tired and alone with only her horses to keep her company.

She was in the middle of one of her many chores, namely sweeping the stables, when she heard a creek come from the door. Looking up, she saw a youthful blond man standing in the entryway, wearing a forest green tunic and a pointy cowl. He wore an expression of surprise when he saw her there, but she couldn't for the likes of her know why. Nonetheless, it has been forever since she's seen someone her age, and it was exciting to meet someone new.

"Oh... a visitor!" she greeted, "It's been a long time since we've had a visitor here... Where did you come from?"

The visitor seemed startled by this statement, "Um, well... I, uh... you see, well, I'm from, well, ummm..." stuttering of a similar caliber continued to drip from his mouth until Malon decided to relieve him of his apparent suffering,

"Well I'm Malon, I grew up around here. Do you mind to sit and chat for a while? It would give me an excuse to rest my legs."

"Uh, sure," he answered, still seemingly perplexed. They conversed for a long while, Malon naturally doing most of the talking. She told him about the new king who terrorizes his citizens, how Ingo had taken over the business and kicked her father out of the estate, and how she was basically made into a personal slave of the ranch. He seemed to take everything she said seriously and with thought, but only gave a few compassionate nods. It was easy to open up to him, she thought, thought that might only be because of her social isolation.

"It's just, everyone seems to be turning evil. Everything was so much easier when I was younger, I wish there was something I could do, something that could be done..."

A certain glint appeared in her guests eyes at that moment, a particular determination that came out of somewhere deep inside some abyss and extruded from the once-stuttering visitor. With a certain confidence he stood up and said his first full sentence of the entire night, "There is something that can be done," and walked out the door without another word.

"Well bye then-" her words met only with a closing door, "I guess he was finished," she shrugged at a young mare at her side, "A little aloof, I guess, too bad he left, he was kinda cute," thinking of him falling over every word, she snickered, "Kinda funny too."

She continued her sweeping, thinking of the mysterious visitor, he wore some odd clothes, no Hylian usually dressed themselves like that. Wait, that reminds her of someone else she used to know, someone from the forest who always wore grassy colored clothing, did she know him? _He did look familiar, but then again he could always be a distant relative of the boy I used to know. No, I think that person is long gone by now..._


	9. Saving Lon Lon Ranch

A feeling of shame had wafted over the boy who had been called Fairy Boy so many years ago. It was his fault things had turned out like this. Why Hyrule's ruined, why so many people are dead, why Malon's life is so terrible, why Saria's gone... if he had been there he knew he could have somehow prevented this. He could've stopped the horror of the past seven years if only he wasn't trapped in sleep stasis by that self-righteous ass Rauru...

Suddenly, that guilt and shame had turned into frustration, and frustration into determination. He WOULD fix this, Hyrule WILL be saved! By knocking down one disgusting monster at a time, and he would start with the ugliest. Marching into the main field of the newly reestablished "Ingo" Ranch, he confronted the arrogant oppressor of his dear friend with a false smile.

"Hello there, traveler! Welcome to Ingo Ranch! I'm owner of the ranch, Ingo himself. Does the farm look different to you? Then you may have visited once when that sluggard Talon had been in charge, but I assure you, its in under much better management now!" the old farmhand greeted, pompously dressed in a frilly overcoat with symbol of Ganondorf sewn into its hems. The young man considered simply punching him directly in the face and demanding he hand over the deed of the farm, but with his connection to the throne, that would most likely only stir up more trouble. He glanced inside the carral, perhaps there was a way to settle this peacefully...

"You seem like a man interested in horses, eh? We offer rides for a small fee of ten rupees! What do you say? Sounds like a steal, right?" Ingo offered.

"Yes, I think I will," he replied simply.

"Very good, have a fun time!" Ingo opened the gates to the enclosure and let the green-clad man inside. There were many beautiful stallions trotting here, huge yellow steeds big and strong, but only one horse will do for him. Taking out a small blue instrument he got from the Princess of Hyrule herself, he began a familiar melody not heard openly on the ranch for many years.

Ingo gave an involuntary twitch, "Now what's the deal going on here!" He yelled, "more of that racket and you're coming out early!" Hearing the commotion, a young dame with long red hair decided to see what had happened, just in time to see her favorite horse gallop over to the strange visitor.

Fairy Boy put away his ocarina, "Wow, you sure managed to piss him off, huh?" piped the minuscule sprite at his shoulder.

"Shut up, Navi," the boy replied to the fairy as he greeted the horse with a much different attitude, "Hey Epona, it's been a while huh?" He patted her flank, "Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here soon."

He hopped up on her saddle and began trotting around when suddenly Ingo decided to open his mouth again, "Oh! You chose that horse? It's always been a troublesome one, never could get it to trust customers, but it seems to like you real well!" Fairy boy said nothing about this and continued to get reacquainted with his riding. "You know what, for a price of only fifty rupees, I think I'll give you that horse, if you race me for it of course!"

He considered this deal, the green-clad man did not have many rupees on him, only 110, but if he could procure Epona from this pennihandler, it was worth a shot, "I'll try that." he said.

The race began swiftly, Epona shot far ahead of Ingo's steed, keeping pace and running as hard as she could. Malon cheered from the sidelines. Ingo was surprised his skill, hardly catching up to them until the end of the race. Before he knew it, Ingo had lost.

"Now I suppose I'll be taking Epona, yes?" asked the visitor.

Out of breath and flustered, Ingo replied, "No, no, no, no, NO! I mean, ere, no, you cannot, yet, as I had clearly stated you had to beat me twice before you could just _take_ my horse. Which will be of course be another fifty rupees." He opened his hand, gesturing for money. The green-clad man was astonished.

"You never said that!" Malon cut in, clearly angry with the farm-head's shenanigans, "The deal was a race for Epona, winner gets to keep her, that was it! You can't go back on your deal!"

"Quiet you! Or you'll be sleeping in the barn for a month!" Ingo retorted.

"I already sleep in the barn!"

"Then you'll sleep in the horse trough if you don't shut up!" He turned to the guest, "Now, friend, about those rupees?"

He was now running down on funds, if he didn't win this next race he wouldn't be able to win Epona, this was his only chance, "Okay." he answered resentfully, taking out some more rupees to give him. Malon gave a frustrated growl at this.

In the second race Epona had a harder time with Ingo's colt, he was prepared this time. He kept into the inside and tried hard not to let her through. The visitor was worrying he might not be the win this time, when a cheering voice was heard across the field. "You can do it, Fairy Boy! You can beat him! Come on!"

He felt a small pang in his chest, _she remembers me!_ he thought. With refined confidence, he and Epona strode quickly past Ingo and onward to victory.

"NO! AAAUuuuauhghgh! How did you beat me!?" Ingo yelled from stress, "I can't let you take my horse, the King won't think I'm responsible! I can't let you do this!" He smacked Epona's backside, scaring her and Fairy Boy into the corral. "You know what, you can have your stupid horse! But you're never leaving the ranch! HAHAHA!"

Fairy Boy was startled by this sudden threat, though not particularly surprised. With a knowing look at Navi and comforting scratch on the ear to Epona, he rode with vigor directly at the gates and leaped over them with ease. Ingo gasped at this, and started shaking his head furiously.

With a last look at Malon, who had a huge adorable grin across her face, he and Epona rode out of the farm. One thought kept repeating and repeating in his mind as he did this, _She Remembers Me!_ He was ecstatic.


	10. Tending Battle Wounds

After the knightly excursion of the visitor dressed in green, life at Lon Lon Ranch had gotten much easier for Malon. Out of fear Ganondorf would punish him for making such a foolish deal with a stranger, Ingo's demeanor had become much more passive. Her father had eventually come back to the ranch after hearing of this and quickly took over responsibilities, seeming to finally take his work and duties seriously. Things are slowly becoming normal once again, and all because of... because of the man who now appears to limping painfully up the hill towards her.

"Fairy Boy!" Malon cried as she ran towards her injured friend, "Are you okay, what happened!"

"Hey Malon," Fairy Boy replied, clutching his side, "It's fine-ergh!- just a small burn. Nothing much."

"Nothing much! Look at you! Come with me! Now!" she held him up her shoulder and led him into her house.

"Take off your tunic." she instructed forcefully.

"My, uh, what?"

"Your tunic, I have to tend to your wounds."

"My wou- oh!" he did as he was told, taking his sword off his shoulder, followed by his shoes and his arm braces. wincing in the process. He finally undid his belt and stripped himself of his tunic, leaving him only in dirty trousers. Malon noticed how muscular and lean he had become over past seven years, just before seeing the much more urgent note of the hideous red scar coming down the left side of his chest, boils poking through the skin.

"Ah, I'll um, get some ointment, you can have a seat on the crate," she gestured to the box of milk before leaving the room. This was certainly a surprise, it's was years since the last time she spoke to her fairy-friendly gentlemen, and now he appears out of the blue, saving her ranch and taking her favorite horse, then showing up again a couple weeks later injured and needing care. Malon felt a twinge of irritation for a lack of explanation. She found the bottle she was looking for and walked hurriedly into the cucco room.

Fairy Boy was where she left him, sitting on a crate while breathing deeply and slowly. He looked up at her expectantly when she walked in.

"I'm going to put this on the burn, okay" she said, "It might hurt a little, but it'll be better for you in the long run." He took a deep breath and nodded. She knelt over him and poured some of the goopy red liquid on her hands. Fairy Boy cringed when her hand made contact with his skin, but he calmed down eventually as she continued to rub the mixture on him.

"So, Fairy Boy, you mind me asking on what gave you this particularly nasty burn of yours?" she inquired.

"I was, well, um, I had some trouble in the mountains."

"In the mountains? Death Mountain? Why the hell'd you go up there?"

He seemed surprised by the bluntness of her words, "Well I have some Goron friends there who needed some help, so I, uh, gave them a hand."

"A hand that somehow ended up in you burning half your torso off?"

"Basically, yeah," he gave out a pained laugh. She smiled a bit and dug her hand a bit into his side for a satisfying grunt from her patient. "What was that for!?"

"Oh, nothing, so what was it, exactly? Hot geyser? Lava pit? Fire-breathing rock man?" she asked.

"Dragon, actually." Malon's hand tensed up, an expression of awe dawning upon her face,

"You saw a dragon!? It could breath fire!? You fought it, didn't you!? Fairy Boy fought a dragon!" Malon squealed loud enough to scare some cuccos.

"Malo- errgh, Malon, can you please, ahh, get off my-eeh-...?" Malon noticed she had been pushing down to hard on his abdomen, and quickly stopped her banter and took her hands away.

"Oh, er, sorry. So, you really saw a dragon? And it could breath fire?" she said quieter, with hardly contained excitement.

"I think it was made of fire, actually. It was terrible to fight it, kept jumping out of pits in the ground and flying straight at me. It got me once, if you can't tell." he replied, gesturing to the cucco sized burn across his chest.

Malon's eyes got really wide, "I'll go get you some bandages," she told him, getting up for some required medical equipment. _That's. So. Cool!_ she thought. She had no idea why her fairy oriented friend was dealing with dragons, but was that was SO COOL! If she had to pry it out of him, she would, but he will tell her what he's been up to for the last seven years.

She came back to find him dozing off against two crates stacked up on each other, making himself at home, just sleeping comfortably like he owns the place. She went on to wrap him around in the medical tape, but he didn't budge. It didn't seem as if she would get any answers tonight. _How convenient for you, huh Fairy Boy?_ she thought, looking at him suspectingly.

As Malon finished up, she looked her fairy friend down decided he should have a better resting place to heal faster. She picked him up bridal style and walked up the steps to her room, something regained by her after Ingo's change of heart. Laying him on the bed, admiring his frame, she noticed another injury, certainly older than the one she just tended to. It was a small puncture wound scar that could have only been made by an arrow shot. _Just what_ have _you been doing, Fairy Boy._


	11. Dance

Fairy Boy sat comfortably on the grassy plain of Lon Lon Ranch, watching the sun set over the farm, sending brilliant orange streaks through the yellow sky. He had taken a grievous injury in his last expenditure, and decided to take a hiatus from his adventure until he had healed completely. Malon walk the horses into the stable for the night, then sat down with her guest to witness the evening light.

"Wow, on clear days like this, the sky looks really pretty," said Malon, stretching her arms out and yawning. He really hadn't noticed until now, but the ranch girl had really filled out during the years. She had grown a quite a lot, her arms muscular from farm work, usually hidden underneath long sleeves, not to mention a certain maturation in the chestal region, emphasized from her stretching. Malon seemed to noticed his ogling of her and gave him a startled look, blushing a little; fairy boy quickly looked away.

"Wouldja' look at that! Now aint that a sight!" belted Talon, interrupting their little awkward exchange of glances, "A day like this we should celebrate! I'll go get my lute!"

"Oh! Are you gonna play a song?" asked Malon eagerly.

"Why else would someone bring out a lute if not to play it?" said Fairy Boy, questioning her use of words. She pushed him down and ran towards the barn.

"I'll go get Mr. Ingo to join us! Fairy Boy, go get your ocarina! And make yourself useful and build a fire!" she commanded. Of course Fairy Boy always had his ocarina on him. He smirked at her enthusiasm as he took it out of his pocket. Navi decided to pipe up on his shoulder at that time.

"Wow, bossy one, isn't she?"

"She's just excited, that's all," Fairy Boy replied, before getting up to prepare some firewood. Navi gave a frustrated grunt and flew under his cap.

Soon him, Malon, Ingo, and Talon had gathered around the make-shift fire, Talon playing his lute, Fairy Boy on his ocarina, Ingo attempting to play on a flute-looking instrument, and Malon sang. All were in harmony in the performing the song written many years ago by Malon's mother herself. After they had finished, night had come over them and Talon and Ingo were drinking something a deep maroon together out of a flask, exchanging memories of past farm life, but Malon and the forest boy contented themselves with watching the flames, Navi had dozed off inside his cap.

During their reverie, Malon suddenly decided to speak up, "Hey Fairy Boy, you know what?" her eyes intent on the fire.

"What is it?" he replied, curious of her outburst.

She stood up and looked down on him with a slight grin, extending her hand, "We should dance."

A bit nervous of this at first, given Malon's habit of messing with him, he cautiously took her hand and stood up with her. He looked into her dark blue eyes and grabbed her waist gently. She put her arms around his neck and they began to sway softly. They stared at each other with intent, both inhaling deeply.

Talon noticed these two lovebirds awkwardly tilting their bodies to absolutely no music, and resolved to start another soft melody. Ingo in his drunken state looked at him surprised for a minute, but in his confusion managed to follow the tune on his flute.

The couple continued to gaze into each others eyes, then remembering young newlyweds he once met a long time ago, Fairy Boy started slowly twirling Malon to the tune of the music. For the moment it was just them, the two dancing in the moonlight overhead, completely forgetting the missing years, the regretfulness of not being their when he thought she needed him, the fear of her knight never returning to save her from the snatches of evil. It was just them, their bodies inches apart, her head leaning in to his shoulder. At that moment the boy who had grown up in so little time had decided right there that no matter what, his little redhead would be safe.


End file.
